The Gautrain Rapid Rail project in South Africa is a state-of-the art fast transit system that runs between Johannesburg, Pretoria and Johannesburg O.R Tambo International Airport. It has been the subject of extensive planning, following feasibility studies in the late 1990s to produce the first plans for two main rail routes serving the Gauteng Province: a north-south line from Hatfield to Marlboro and an east-west line from Park Station to Johannesburg International Airport.
This venture has been the largest rapid rail transit project under construction in the world, at a cost of more than 25 billion Rand (approximately 2.5 billion Euros). The Gautrain is also the biggest public–private partnership in Africa, between the Gauteng Provincial Government and Bombela Concession Co consortium, which both joined forces to build a modern transport network.
Sika South Africa is proud to have been selected as one of the key suppliers of construction materials to various facets of this development. Construction began in 2006 on the first link in the new network, which runs from the O.R. Tambo Airport outside the city to the Sandton District of Johannesburg, and was scheduled for completion by June 2010 – just in time for the fans arriving for the FIFA Football World Cup. The rest of the project with five more stations and their links was completed with the opening on 7 June 2012 of the final section between Rose bank and Johannesburg Park Station.
The areas along the Pretoria–Johannesburg line are considered to be a fast growing region within the country, with growing pressure on the existing transportation system. The Gautrain was built to relieve the traffic congestion in the Johannesburg–Pretoria traffic corridor and offer commuters a viable alternative to road transport, as Johannesburg has limited public transport infrastructure. The total new twin line, rapid rail network is more than 80 kilometres in length and the Gautrain travels at speeds of up to160 km/hr.
Besides, much of its route is through the city and its suburbs will be underground, further reducing congestion and dramatically cutting the current journey times. The train is actually expected to reduce the number of cars on the N1 Ben Schoeman Highway by 20%, with 100,000daily passenger trips. The project is serving the Gauteng area with a rapid transport service, providing a safe, efficient and reliable service to both commuters and airport travelers and, as with many other infrastructure projects, the Gautrain is also aimed at aiding economic development.
PROJECT RESULTS
Gautrain further achieved important objectives described in Gauteng’s Growth and Development Strategy. These included requirements for Broad Based Black Economic Empowerment in terms of broadening ownership and control, skills transfer and preferential procurement.
Emphasis was also placed on the empowerment of women, youth and people living with disabilities. Sika’s valuable contribution of high performance construction materials and world-class engineering skills to the Gautrain project certainly bodes well for its long-term resilience and reliability.
The Gautrain project houses the largest pre-cast yard in Africa and Sika South Africa has secured the contract to supply Sika ViscoCrete-10 for the fabrication of bridge segments and bridge beams.
About Sika South Africa
Sika South Africa regards itself as a “multi-domestic” company, putting the needs of its local customers at the very centre of its business activities. The company’s products and systems, backed by comprehensive service packages, are carefully tailored to local market needs. On a local level, Sika always puts this sound business principal into practice.
Sika strives to provide value-added products and full solutions. Sika’s products and systems are used in almost every aspect of modern living, from building bridges, dams, roads and harbours to high-rise buildings. Sika’s technology is also used for building cars, trucks, buses, boats and industrial products. When using Sika systems, quality, durability and sustainability are added to concrete.
Contacts,
Sika South Africa
Tel +27 (0)31 792 6500
[email protected]
http://zaf.sika.com/en/group.html
